‘All Churches Undergoing Religious Ferment’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31205, 1 November 1966, Page 18

‘All Churches Undergoing Religious Ferment’

He was thankful that all aspects of faith were being questioned in the present age of ferment, and it was most important that each individual thought about and faced up to the questions being presented by the “new” theologians and moralists, the Rt. Rev. E. A. Gowing, Bishop of Auckland, told the large congregation attending the centennial Festal Evensong at St. Mary’s, Merivale, on Sunday evening. Two areas of ferment mentioned by Bishop Gowing were that the Church might be showing too much concern with itself as an institution and keeping itself going as a piece of machinery; and the debate among moralists between acceptance of absolute or relative standards. New moralists were saying that nothing in itself was wrong. Although the Presbyterian Church was in the limelight at the moment, it would be “pulling the wool over our eyes” if people thought that the Anglican Church in New Zealand was sailing on calm seas. All churches were undergoing ferment at present, said Bishop Gowing. There was no need to get gloomy or pessimistic about this, he said. “If you are not facing up to these questions you are missing out on what is happening to our Church.” Comparing the 1860 s with today. Bishop Gowing said that there was no longer the same emphasis on personal religion, individual sin and salvation. Heaven and earth were no longer seen as geographical places but states,

and there was a different emphasis on the importance of obedience to God’s immutable law. Now there was much more emphasis on social evils and corporate religion, and all aspects of faith and mission were being questioned. The most important thing as St. Mary’s entered its second century was thinking about and facing the problems brought through change, but it should be remembered that Christ had been and always would be the same, said Bishop Gowing.